1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a damped support system for extensometers which have masses which are subjected to external vibrations.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Extensometers which are supported by external members (other than the specimen) are subjected to vibrations induced by external forces, such as accidentally hitting the external support. The support system has a mass, and where counterweights are provided, the external vibrations induced do not damp down quickly, and the extensometer output is adversely affected.
In high temperature extensometers, the sensing extensometer is coupled to the specimen by long ceramic rods which engage the specimen at contact points and which extend to sensor system supports that are independently supported from the test load frame. The specimen contact rods and the extensometers must be counterweighted to avoid placing external loads on the rods which can possibly result in slipping of the contract rods on the specimen. The support frame has substantially unrestrained movement in several degrees of freedom to accommodate shifts in the specimen during the process of heating up. Also, the ceramic specimen contact rods are counterweighted by suitable balance weights or masses that will tend to vibrate from external inputs.